AXA Millésimes, which is part of the AXA insurance group and owns nine vineyards, predominantly in Europe, is on the hunt for distributors for Outpost’s namesake brand in the UK and France, as well as in Asian markets including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Outpost GM Frank Dotzler is currently on a mini-tour of potential export markets with AXA Millésimes’ MD, Christian Seely, that included a stop-off in the UK this week.
While Outpost has historically sold around 90% of its wines to private clients in the US – a “quite profitable sales channel” according to Seely – the company has started to investigate export opportunities following a “substantial” replanting programme and purchase of more vine area in the region. With annual sales of around 3,500 cases currently, Outpost is expecting a further 1,500-to-2,000 cases to come online starting from later this year.
AXA Millésimes added Outpost in California’s Napa Valley to its portfolio 2018, acquiring the wine producer and brand from Dotzler, who has remained with the business.
“Our direct-to-consumer customers have got us to where we are today,” Dotzler said. “But this approach boxes you in. To make Output a global brand, we can’t keep doing that.”
Seely added that the parent company will focus efforts on the high-end on-premise in Outpost’s new markets.
The Outpost portfolio, all of which hails from Howell Mountain in Napa, includes a Zinfandel priced at US$75 per bottle up to a $200 Cabernet Sauvignon.
AXA Millésimes also owns Platt Vineyard in Sonoma. The US pair join France’s Château Pichon Baron, Château Suduiraut, Château Pibran and Domaine de l’Arlot as well as Quinta do Noval and Quinta do Passadouro from Portugal and Hungary’s Disznókő on the firm’s books.
